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Gerry's Garage Talk: Visiting Precision Speed & Motor
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Posted by nwv_admin Fri Nov 19, 2004 05:20:00 PST
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0 responses 0 comments First off, just a note that in the last column we put the wrong directions to Dennis Harris's Hot Rod Garage and I want to apologize for that. The correct directions to Hot Rod Garage are as follows: drive south on Fruitvale Avenue off Rosedale Highway to Charity Avenue, turn right on Charity Avenue to the end of the metal buildings, turn north (right) along the chain link fence to the third set of metal buildings and look for the sign over the door saying Hot Rod Garage. The address is 6734 Charity Ave., Bay #10. I hope this clears up the confusion. You can also just call Dennis at 661-323-7060.

This week we're visiting a new machine shop in Bakersfield, Precision Speed & Machine. The shop is owned by Vic Posey and Tom Mettler. Vic started out at Bakersfield College's Automotive Department in the machine shop there, honing his skills as a machinist. In 1992 he started working for a machine shop in Taft. In January 2003 he and Tom formed a partnership and bought the Precision Auto Machine Shop in Delano. The former Delano machine shop was originally formed in 1972, and the current employees now have more than 100 years in combined machine shop experience. In August 2004, they moved the shop into a brand new building in Bakersfield and renamed it Precision Speed & Machine.

Vic has built and raced cars and trucks at Mesa Marin, so he knows the importance of a good and dependable engine, whether for racing or just getting there to race. When Vic was working at the Taft store, he was building race engines on the side. Several of his engines have won numerous races and the racers passed the word about Vic's skills as an engine builder. At the shop, they not only build race engines but also custom engines for individuals, including engines for street rods, muscle cars, and race cars. They also build or rebuild stock motors. They will build an engine for you to your specifications, from mild to wild. One of their specialties is to fix and rebuild aluminum heads that most other shops cannot repair.

Their showroom has most engine supplies available, from gaskets to complete engines. Some of the engine supplies include: engine paint, manifolds, pistons, rods, heads and head parts, valve covers, spark plug wires, valves, high speed starters, and so on. They carry most engine parts, from stock to high performance. They also carry the following brands: Clevite, Perfect Circle, Silvolite, Safety, Hasting, Engine Tech, Melling, Felpro, Isky Cams, Edelbrock Professional Products, Eagle, LA Sleeves, Moroso, Mr. Gasket, MSD, Ignitor, Kevko, and Milodon.

Their machine shop services include: multi-angle valve jobs, pressure testing, magna-flux, surfacing cylinder, head straightening, spark plug hole repair, aluminum head welding, flow bench testing, port and polishing in four stages. Block work includes: bore and hone, stroker clearancing, race block prep, blue printing, rod reconditioning, crank grinding and polishing, and engine balancing. They are a complete engine repair, design, and assembly shop for autos, diesel and performance.

Precision Speed & Machine is located at 12816 Jomani Drive, north of Rosedale Highway on the northeast corner of Allen Road and Jomani. The phone number is 661-589-4611. Vic also has a web site, http:///www.precisionspeedm... that lists most of their products and offers photos of their machine shop tools and services.

In other news, I don't know if you've noticed, but at the northwestvoice.com Web site, you can click on the pictures in the columns and bring up even more pictures. This is a new feature started last issue, so log on and check out all the additional pictures.

For your calendar, don't miss the Dec. 12 Greater Bakersfield Toy Run and Canned Food Drive benefiting the Salvation Army. To participate, donate one new unwrapped toy and one non persishable food item, or pay a $20 registration fee. Participants are assembling from 9 am to 9:55 am at Beach Park, 21st Street and Oak, and will ride to the Kern County Fairgrounds. Call 661-832-3045 for more information.

Until next time, Gerry.

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